Airfares this summer could be ”really, really expensive,” the EU warns. The trend could continue for years to come. 

– Even in the best case scenario, the price crisis will last a long time, says the EU Energy Commissioner to Sky News. 

The consequences of the war in Iran will soon be felt by European holidaymakers.

On Tuesday, the airline Lufthansa announced that 20,000 flights are canceled between May and October, to save on fuel. Several other companies have also reduced traffic. 

According to the IEA, the International Energy Agency, aviation fuel in Europe may have run out just in time for the start of summer.

Also EU is now warning of the "very serious crisis" that the impending fuel shortage could entail.

– Unfortunately, it is very likely that many people's holidays will be affected, either by cancelled flights or really, really expensive tickets, says the Union's Energy Commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, to Sky News.

”Could take years”

The current crisis is not about not having enough fuel, but about prices having risen so much, he says. However, it doesn't take much for stocks to start running out properly – at least as long as the Strait of Hormuz is closed.

Moreover, the damage, in many places, has already been done. 

“The gas infrastructure has been damaged so severely that it will take years to rebuild it. This means that for months, perhaps even years, we will see significantly higher prices than we had before the crisis began,” says Jørgensen.

Jorgensen urged at the end of March EU countries to consider measures to voluntarily reduce energy demand in the transport sector. Since the start of the oil crisis, the EU has, among other things, called on member states to lower taxes on electric vehicles to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. 

Source: Expressen.se